


this could be ordinary

by hookedswan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Coming Out, Crying, Custody Arrangements, F/M, First Crush, Fluff, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Post-Sirius Black in Azkaban, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin Raise Harry Potter, Snogging, Social Anxiety, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:14:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21701290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hookedswan/pseuds/hookedswan
Summary: Harry moves in with Sirius and Remus after Prisoner of Azkaban.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 48
Kudos: 236





	1. Chapter One: Ambivalence

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic in a while and my very first Harry Potter fic. The general premise is that sirius's name is cleared after his arrest and sadly buckbeak is not saved, as there is no need to go back in time. He and remus are granted custody of harry. This fic is probably going to deal with more than just harry's past trauma and anxiety issues, but i'm going to be tagging as i go along so that's why it makes it seem as if that's the main plot point as of right now.

The doorbell rang at Number Four Privet Drive. It was a rainy morning in Little Whinging, a Thursday. Vernon Dursley was away at work, though his wife, Petunia, was at home. It was the last day of June and 13 year old Harry Potter had arrived home from Hogwarts just a week prior. He was sad in his bedroom, laying back on his too-small bed, waiting for that doorbell. When he heard it, his heart began to beat faster. He sprang up, and then silently cursed himself, hoping that the springs weren’t too loud (which was a very foolish thought brought on by the anticipation of what was to come that day.)

Harry toed off his old trainers slowly and tip toed out of his bedroom and over to the stairs. He sat on them a step or two down and watched the interaction at the front door through the banister rails. Aunt Petunia opened the front door to Remus Lupin.

“ Hello, you’re Mrs. Dursley, right?” The man said and put a polite smile on. He had four thick scars running from the right side of his forehead to the left edge of his jaw, crossing his nose. Petunia straightened herself out.

“Yes. I don’t want to buy anything, _or_ donate to the homeless.”

Harry mentally scoffed at her, Professor Lupin did _not_ look homeless.

Lupin let out a short laugh, “I’m not here for your money. My name is Remus Lupin, may I please come in? It’s pouring.” Petunia nodded and side stepped to allow the man to enter the house.

Remus took his dark coat off and held it over his arm. He turned towards Petunia and spoke, “Could we sit in the parlor?” He followed the blonde into the living room.

Harry sighed and climbed down a few more steps to be able to see into the living room. Remus was sat on an arm chair. His aunt asked Remus if he wanted tea and he accepted.

Harry felt bad for the man. The living room was absolutely hideous. It was wrapped in an ugly dark yellow wallpaper covered in flowers and a paisley-like pattern. The main sofa, which sat in the middle of the room, was olive green with muted orange and blue flowers on it. It faced a television in front of three windows, all covered in heavy curtains that were pulled back, exposing the weather to the inhabitants. A matching chair sat to the right of the sofa, facing it, on which Remus Lupin was sitting. A gray brick fireplace was behind the chair, and the mantle above was covered with family photos of the Dursleys.

Petunia returned with a cup of tea and sat awkwardly on the sofa. “So, Mr. Lupin, how may I help you?” She asked in a mock-polite tone of voice.

Remus placed his teacup on a coaster on the table and gathered his thoughts. “Well, I understand that you’re Harry Potter’s aunt, yes? Well I am – was a close friend of his parents, Lily and James.” Petunia stiffened like a board, her eyes widening. “I have grown quite close with Harry since last September and, upon speaking with _our_ ministry, I have been granted custody of Harry, along with a.. friend.”

Harry’s palms were clammy. He was nervous about living with Remus and Sirius. A week prior, after Sirius’ arrest, Dumbledore had spoken to the Minister of Magic privately. What was said, Harry did not know, but when Dumbledore returned to the hospital wing and spoke to him, Ron, and Hermione, he said that the Wizengamot would be administering Veritaserum to Sirius the following day. All went to plan and Sirius was officially declared innocent. The news had not been published yet, as the Minister was still trying to write a statement to give to explain how a screw up this big happened. The news would be published that day in a special edition of the _Evening Prophet_ to make sure that everyone would read it and find out the truth.

Aunt Petunia spoke to Lupin. “So you’re here to take the boy? _You_?” She stuck her chin up and gave him a look of disgust.

“Yes. I have papers that you can--”

“I don’t care. You can take him! He’s ungrateful anyways. _Boy_!” She called. Harry stood quickly and tip toed back towards his room. She called for him again.

“ _Coming_!” He called back, pulling his shoes back on. Less than a minute later, Harry trotted happily downstairs with a look of excitement on his young face. “Professor Lupin!” He said, walking over to the two adults. “I had no idea you’d be here so soon! I thought you said you would be here tonight, but I must have misread your lett--” Lupin cut him off, smiling.

“I apologize, Harry. Sirius pestered me all night to get you early, believe me. He wanted to come _yesterday_ but I told him how you wouldn’t be expecting us and the owl wouldn’t arrive until today _anyway_.” He turned to Petunia, “I’m quite sorry for arriving unexpectedly early, Mrs. Dursley.” Lupin turned back to Harry. “How about I come help you pack your things, hm?” Harry nodded, surprised. He turned of the parlor and marched up the steps. The golden-blond man followed and Harry did not miss the look Petunia threw at him.

Harry’s bedroom was quite tiny, with just a twin bed, a small dresser, a tiny desk, and one window. Harry crouched under the bed and dragged out his trunk. “I haven’t even really unpacked. I’ve just been wearing the clothes I left here, I don’t want to get my _good_ clothes dirty.”

He watched Harry walk the few steps to his desk and snatch Hedwig’s cage. “Well, Professor Lupin, I’m all ready to leave.”

Lupin laughed a bit, “Harry, there’s no need to call me ‘professor’ anymore, I’m not your teacher. I’m just Remus.” Harry nodded, it felt werid to call him Remus, far too informal.

Remus went to grab Harry’s trunk for him when he seized up. “Wait!” He cried. Harry dropped his things and pried open a loose floor board. Inside were a few items – a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , a wizarding photograph of Ron, Hermione, and him, and a couple sugar quills. Harry shoved them into a pocket on his trunk and then said, “Okay, _now_ I’m ready to go.”

Remus carried Harry’s trunk downstairs. “Well, Mrs. Dursley, it was nice to meet you, but we’re going to be leaving now.” He looked to her, standing in the doorway of the living room. Remus picked up his umbrella and opened the door, letting Harry out first.

The two of them walked down the brick towards an old cream colored car. “You can sit in the back seat with Hedwig.” The man opened up the back seat door for Harry to climb in. The seats were a lighter cream color. The car was clearly old and run down, there were a few tears here and there in the upholstery and the window crank was missing from one of the back seat doors.

Harry almost didn’t notice the large dog in the front seat. “Sirius!” He pet Padfoot, who proceeded to lick his hand, making him giggle.He was too distracted to listen to Remus open the trunk of the car and then shut it.

Remus walked back around the car and climbed into the driver’s seat. The car took a few tries to start, but Remus managed.

They drove mostly in silence. Harry was staring out the window, watching the houses he’d grown up nearby pass by for the last time. Relief washed over Harry the farther from 4 Privet Drive he got. He saw Piers Polkiss’ house and the primary school he attended. Funnily enough, he actually _saw_ Piers during the drive. The car had to stop in traffic and outside of a convenience store across from his window, he saw Dudley and Piers buying cigarettes from a young man.

“I know it’s hard, Harry, moving and all. But, if you’d like, we can come visit.” Remus looked at him in the rear view mirror.

“That’s alright, I think I’d prefer if we didn’t visit. I’ve had enough of boring old Little Whinging to last me a lifetime.” Harry said, watching as Dudley lit a cigarette and took a drag. Remus craned his neck, still stopped in traffic, to see who Harry was staring at.

“Merlin, I could use a cigarette right now,” he muttered. “Do you know them? Are they your friends?”

Harry sighed. No, he didn’t know them anymore. This was the beginning of his new life, where there were no bully cousins, nor were there mean aunts and uncles. “No, I don’t.”

The light turned green and Remus turned back to the road. Once they drove out of Little Whinging and into a more rural area, Sirius transformed. His hair was much shorter than when they last saw each other. He was in a patterned paisley button up shirt, buttoned only to his chest, where it was open. Harry hated paisley, but Sirius seemed to look alright in it. Sirius turned around in his seat.

“Hello, Harry! I’ve missed you, how have you been?”

“I’ve been okay, cleaning and gardening, you know the drill.” They chatted for a bit about pointless things like the weather and magical politics.

The three of them drove for hours, until the sun was high in the sky. As they drove, the rain only got worse, making it seem much later than it actually was. Around noon, Harry spoke, “Where _do_ you guys live?” He hadn’t thought to ask before.

“Devon. We live in a _mostly_ wizarding village. It’s right by the ocean, you’ll love it. Old Graham Hill, it’s called.” Sirius said, staring out the window.

Harry didn’t respond, only nodded and continued to look out the window at the passing trees and fields. He was excited to be living with Sirius and Remus. In the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered that the Weasleys lived in Devon, he wondered how close together Ottery St. Catchpole and Old Graham Hill were.

Slowly, the houses got farther apart and the trees got wider and taller. The car took a lot of winding turns down roads with old signs and small shops. The buildings got closer together as they drove with wizarding shops like “Trunklebin’s Apothecary and Potions”, “Premium Racing Brooms and Supplies”, and “South Amesmond Street Magical Market” passing by. The buildings were old stone and brick and seemed to have apartments above them.

“Our home is a little ways away.” Sirius said, turning towards Harry in the back. He watched as wizards near the shops gawked at the muggle car cruising down the cobblestone streets, which was _not_ a common occurrence.

After turning onto a few more roads, the trio pulled up to a small cottage, flanked by another two small cottages. The home was quaint with two chimneys and a winding path leading from a white wooden gate up to a white front door. On each side of this path was a garden with wildflowers and pumpkins growing.

Sirius undid his seat belt and turned around once again.

“Well, Harry, what do you think?” He asked with a smile on his face.

“I-I… It’s absolutely brilliant! Really!” Harry smiled and marveled at the home in front of him.

“Well, lets head inside. I’ll make us all some lunch and give you a tour of the neighborhood.” Remus offered and exited the car, then Sirius. Harry followed, snatching up Hedwig’s cage.

“Yeah, and then you and I can go shopping and I can get you some clothes.” Sirius walked over to the gate and opened it, motioning for Harry to walk through. The path was cobblestone and had bits of grass and dandelions pushing through.

Remus, ahead of the two black-haired people, unlocked the front door and entered the house. It smelled of pumpkin juice and vanilla, the walls were bare with only a few photographs and a mirror hanging up. Harry felt somewhat relaxed. This house was astronomically better than 4 Privet Drive. It had shoes scattered by the doorway, bits of dirt on the floor that were missed while sweeping, a marked up calendar by the kitchen doorway, it had _life_. It didn’t seem like a house out of a real estate magazine, it seemed real.

Remus hung up his coat and umbrella, then walked into the kitchen. Sirius placed his hand upon Harry’s shoulder.

“Your bedroom is the room with the open door upstairs. You head up there and I’ll bring your trunk in.” He said, leaving the house quickly.

Harry slowly traveled upstairs. There were three doors in the landing, one closed and two open. One was a bathroom and the other a semi-spacious bedroom with an old dresser and a bed in an ornate wooden frame. There was a desk pushed against the wall to the left side of the room, in front of a window which looked out onto the street. Harry watched Sirius close the fence gate with his trunk in hand.

The bedroom was not large. It was on the smaller side, but much larger than Harry’s old bedroom in Surrey. There was another window nearby the bed which looked at the side of the neighbor’s house. There was a closet on the opposite wall from the desk, the door was open and all it contained was a singular bar for hanging nice clothing and a wooden shelf above.

“Here we are, Harry.” Sirius said, placing the trunk next to the dresser. “I didn’t decorate, because I didn’t know what you’d like. We can go buy sheets, blankets, photo frames, and the like at Gidwillip’s Emporium today, if you want. I think the white sheets are a bit boring. Gidwillip’s sells clothes too, but they’re mostly wizarding robes. Shitty ones, at that. Everyone knows Madam Malkin’s is the best place for robes. There’s a muggle clothing shop across town we can check out.”

Harry smiled slightly nodded, “That sounds great. But aren’t you still a fugitive in the eyes of the wizarding world? Your innocence hasn’t been announced.”

“Oh, shit, that’s right. Erm,” Sirius shut his eyes and tried to think. Harry knew what he was trying to figure out – who would take him out shopping. Harry _really_ wanted to go with Sirius, wanted to get to know him better.

“Well, what about Remus?” Harry asked.

“Please, he’s a workaholic and has _no_ sense of fashion. I mean, I love him, but I don’t think you’d enjoy shopping with Rem.” Sirius said. “Listen, the _Evening Prophet_ will come out at six o’clock so we can just go out after that, yeah?”

“Sounds great, Sirius. What are we having for lunch?” Harry asked as he walked over to his trunk and opened it. It was stuffed full of items.

“Well, we don’t really know what you like to eat, so Remus said he’s just going to make whatever we have the supplies for and hope for the best.” Sirius leaned against the door frame.

“Oh. I’m not picky, really. I’m just starving.” Harry said. He pulled out his clothes and began to fold them on the floor next to his trunk, preparing to put them away. “Is Remus a good cook?”

“Fuck, he’s _fantastic,_ Harry. He makes the best food. I, on the other hand, suck in the kitchen.”

Harry smiled. He placed his ratty old jeans in the bottom drawer and his t-shirts in the middle one. His pajamas, underwear, and socks ended up in the top drawer. Harry took out his few nice t-shirts and jeans, putting them in separate piles in the drawers from the old clothing.

“I’d like to think I’m a good cook, years of practice, y’know? But I absolutely _hate_ cooking.” Harry shared. His Hogwarts robes were hung up in the closet on the of the few coat hangers on the rack. The black loafers were placed in the closet as well, on the shelf.

“Well, you don’t have to cook if you don’t want to. We’re here to take care of you."

Harry blushed, but before he could respond, Remus called up the stairs, “ _Lunch is ready, you two!_ ”

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

On the small round table with the light blue table cloth sat three bowls of soup. “It’s dandelion soup. That’s what the green stuff is. It’s good, trust me.” Remus said, sitting. He was right, the soup was delicious and by the time he finished, Harry wanted seconds, though he didn’t want to ask. He didn’t want to come off as ungrateful or rude. After all, they had welcomed him into their home with open arms. When he was younger and would eat with the Dursleys, they would shout at him if he asked for more food. Harry was pulled from his thoughts by Remus’ calm voice.

“Would you like some more, Harry? There’s plenty.”

Harry worried it was a trick question, though he felt that Remus wouldn’t do that to him. “Um.. I’m alright.” Harry regretted what he said immediately afterwards for two reasons. It probably sounded like he didn’t like the soup at all and he _did_ want more.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to be hungry.”

Harry smiled sweetly, hoping that his pounding heart was not audible. “I’m full, but it was really good. I think I’m going to go unpack the rest of my things. Thank you very much.”

He stood and carried his bowl and silverware over to the sink. He quietly exited the kitchen and walked back upstairs, sitting on his new bed. He had no idea why he was so nervous. He wondered if they could tell. Perhaps it was because he was in a very new environment, with his godfather and his professor? The thought made his stomach clench, quietly confirming his fears. He was afraid of _this_. Not necessarily of Sirius and Remus, but of the big changes happening. He felt like a burden and an inconvenience.

Harry had always been wary of adults. When he met Ron’s parents the previous summer, he’d been shocked to find that they actually _liked_ him and didn’t mind his presence. It was surprising to see that Mr. Weasley didn’t slap Ron after the whole Ford Anglia Incident. If Harry had stolen Uncle Vernon’s car… It was anxiety inducing to think of what he’d do to him.

But with Remus the previous school year, it had been so different to how Uncle Vernon treated him. Remus seemed to _enjoy_ his company. He offered to give him extra lessons and told him about his parents. It was strange. Remus reminded him of the stereotypical mother he would see in films he’s spy on his aunt and uncle watching, of Mrs. Weasley. The type of mother who would lick her finger to wipe off the bit of dried toothpaste from your cheek in the morning.

But Remus Lupin was _not_ Harry’s mother, _nor_ his father, which was why he felt like such a burden upon him. Sirius was a different story. He was his godfather. He was very honest and easy-going. He would swear around Harry and make jokes. Remus once told Harry through letters that Sirius and James were quite alike, both very loud and talkative. Sirius felt more like a friend than a parent. Harry could imagine, years from now, Sirius giving him advice about girls and how to woo them.

It was a very confusing shift in dynamic, from his terribly mean aunt and uncle to his loving, maternal professor and his rambunctious godfather. And it was _scary_ , the two of them were types of adults Harry had never encountered before. Harry wondered if they would shout at him, as his uncle used to do, or, a thought that made him feel like he was going to vomit, _hit him_ , as his uncle _also_ used to do.

Harry stood up, trying to clear his thoughts. He opened Hedwig’s cage on his desk and let her fly about the room. She perched herself upon the headboard of the bed.

“Am I being irrational, Hedwig?” He whispered shakily, trying to will the tears that had welled up away.

She only hooted in response.


	2. Chapter Two: The Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Sirius wait for Harry's arrival in the week leading up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! I wanted to say thank you for the kind comments on last chapter. This chapter takes place before Remus gets Harry.

Remus awoke. The sun was low in the sky. He looked over to the clock hanging upon the wall, 5:52 AM. It was Sunday, which meant he and Sirius only had four days to prepare the house for Harry’s arrival on Thursday. He still wasn’t sure if it was going to be him or Dumbledore picking Harry up, though he hoped he could.

The previous day they had cleared out the second bedroom that served as an office and moved the writing desk into their own bedroom. The wooden bookshelves would have been left in the bedroom but they were extremely old and worn down, so they were taken apart and used as firewood. Remus had repainted the room a nice cream color after tearing the striped wallpaper off the walls.

The bedroom to-do list for Sunday was as follows: Get a bed, get a bed frame, move the old dresser from the basement into the bedroom, and try to get a desk.

Remus had some old furniture in the basement that was left there by the previous owners. This included a chest of drawers, broken oil lamps, and kitchen chairs. The basement would be cleaned one day, but that day was not Sunday.

While Remus was preparing the bedroom, he would be counting on Sirius also completing tasks assigned to him. The house had not been lived in for ten months, as Remus had been living at Hogwarts. Sirius was to begin cleaning it. The previous day, Remus and Sirius had sat down and discussed a game plan for tackling the house.

That night, Remus had written up a list for Sirius.

_**To Do on Sunday** _

_**1\. Exterminate boggart in breadbox.** _

_**2\. Weed the back garden.** _

_**3\. Clean windows.** _

_**4\. Sweep WHOLE HOUSE!! Not just where you can reach, move things.** _

_**5\. Check all curtains for doxies.** _

It was quite a lot for one day, but they were running out of time. Friday was spent in court, testifying against Peter Pettigrew and trying to help the Department of Magical Law Enforcement figure out where he ran off to – not that either of them would know, they hadn’t spoken to him since 1981, but the DMLE wouldn’t hear any of it. They didn’t suspect either of them in aiding him, but they had been friends for seven years, the DMLE was _sure_ that Sirius or Remus had some idea of his habits.

Remus sat up in bed. He turned to wake Sirius up, but his side of the bed was empty. Perhaps he would have been worried, but he saw that Sirius’ bathrobe was missing from its hook and his slippers were not next to the door. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and slid his own bathrobe on. The house was cold and Remus made a mental note to start a fire downstairs both in the living room and in the kitchen.

Downstairs, Sirius was cooking on the stove. Judging from the diced figs and pumpkin, he concluded that Sirius was making oatmeal with pumpkin seeds and figs. It was one of the few (very few) meals that Sirius could cook without screwing up. “Good morning, darling.” Remus said, starting a fire.

“Morning, Moony. Sleep well?”

“Well enough, though my wrist and back still ache from Thursday night.” Remus was referring, of course, to the full moon that ravaged his body that night. He had dislocated his wrist, and the transformation _always_ left him with a sore back.

“I’m sorry dear. Would you like me to get a potion?” Sirius divided the oatmeal into two bowls on the counter.

“No, it’s alright, but thank you.” Remus sat at the table and pressed a chaste kiss to Sirius’ full, chapped lips. The two ate in virtual silence. Not an uncomfortable silence, a natural one. The oatmeal was a bit burnt in spots, but Remus secretly liked it better that way, not that he would tell Sirius. His ego was big enough as it was.

“I’m going to start some water for tea over the fire, would you like some?” Sirius asked, placing his bowl in the sink and casting a quick charm to make it clean itself.

Remus nodded. A few pecks were heard from the window above the sink, and Sirius quickly opened them. A grey owl dropped the _Daily Prophet_ onto the table and flew out.

The paper was dull, with no mention of Sirius’ innocence.

Sirius shut the windows and grabbed the kettle. He filled it with water and placed it on the hook above the fire to boil. Sirius leaned over Remus’ shoulder to take away his now-empty bowl.

“After tea, you have chores to do. I do, too.” Remus said watching Sirius. Sirius smiled.

“I know, dear.”

The day was filled with dust and splinters, what with Sirius cleaning spots that hadn’t been cleaned in a long time and Remus having his neighbor help him with moving the furniture into Harry’s bedroom. Sirius had managed to get rid of the boggart in the kitchen, and found only a few doxies in the curtains from Harry’s room. The curtains were swiftly thrown out and Remus made a note to replace them. Remus bought the bed and its frame from a muggle shop a few towns over and borrowed his neighbor’s pickup truck to transport it home. By seven o’clock, the furniture in Harry’s room was all put together, along with the desk he’d bought.

It was tough to buy furniture for Harry. Remus was poor and liked to save money while Sirius, due to his mother’s recent passing, was wealthy and wanted to spoil both Remus and Harry. Sirius insisted that they not buy Harry anything second-hand. Remus agreed and used money given to him by the older man to buy the things.

Remus threw old white sheets on Harry’s bed but decided on not putting a blanket on. Sirius helped him re-sweep the bedroom for the hundredth time and dust the spotless corners again. Remus cleaned when nervous, and he was nervous about Harry coming to live with him. He loved Harry. He didn’t want him to be upset with the bedroom or with the house. The muggles he lived with probably treated him well. He had never met Petunia Dursley, and he knew he hated magic, but Lily had once said that she felt that if it truly came down to it, Petunia would treat Harry right. They were probably wealthy as well, living in Surrey.

Remus cooked dinner for Sirius and himself. They held hands as they ate at the table, talking about their plans for the week.

The next few days were dull. Remus and Sirius lazed about, snogging and watching television. They make sure to keep up with the cleaning and the gardening. Remus bought seeds for different herbs and vegetables, and planted them in the back yard. They went grocery shopping together, with Sirius as Padfoot. Sirius asked on Wednesday (and Tuesday) if they could go get Harry early, to which Remus said no.

Wednesday night faded into Thursday morning. Remus awoke extra early to thunder and lightning. Sirius got up to and insisted on accompanying him to Surrey. They dressed and gathered up some money to buy breakfast on their way to Little Whinging. Remus snatched up his umbrella and car keys and got into his car, along with Sirius. The drive to Little Whinging was a long one and Sirius quuickly fell asleep

The rain did not lighten up as they got closer to Surrey, if anything, it got worse. It was difficult to see and Remus began to wish he brought his glasses.

Pulling into Little Whinging was surreal, and tough to navigate. The houses were identical and he had to loop around a few times until he finally noticed Privet Drive. He drive until he arrived at Number 4. He knew this was the right place because he saw kneazles in the windows of a house next door, the house of Arabella Figg.

Remus took a deep breath. “You stay here, Sirius,” the dog whimpered, “I’m going to go get him, I shouldn’t be long. I love you.” Remus opened the car door, opened his umbrella, and then left, walking up to the beige front door. With apprehension, Remus knocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned a 'kneazle' towards the end and I'm not 100% if they are mentioned in the book. I'm pretty suret they are, but if not, they are smart cats. They are mentioned on Pottermore.   
> Make sure to comment your thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions for the fic.


	3. Boredom and Good News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry I haven't updated in about a week, but weekends are the best time for me too update because my weekdays are busy. This chapter is a good one, but next chapter will be even better.

Harry watched the rain pour down. He sat at his desk and followed a few drops trailing down his window. Hedwig was in her cage. He was supposed to get a tour of the backyard and the garden, but the rain had gotten much worse, so that was out of the question. Also due to the rain, sending a letter to Ron was unwise. He considered going downstairs to sit with Remus and Sirius, but he didn’t want to bother them.

Harry stood and decided to unpack the rest of his things. He grabbed his school books and carried them to his desk, then his favorite book: _Quidditch Through The Ages_. He propped up the photograph of Ron, Hermione, and him on his desk against the window frame and dropped his wand into a drawer. He placed his only ink bottle and his two quills neatly on his desk too. The books were moved from his desk onto the floor next to his desk in two neat stacks, with _Quidditch Through The Ages_ placed on the very top. Harry hung up his _H_ sweater from Mrs. Weasley. He placed his pewter cauldron, with his invisibility cloak inside, on the floor on the other side of his desk. At the bottom of the trunk was his Firebolt. Pride and joy swelled in Harry’s chest and he grinned. His Quidditch gear was wrapped around the broom to protect it from ink spills and melted candy. He hung up his Quidditch uniform as well and then leaned his Firebolt against the wall by the desk. His extra Quidditch gear was placed on the closet shelf and the boots were placed next to his loafers. The Marauders’ Map was also put in a drawer.

Harry closed up his trunk and stood it up in the back of his closet. Everything was away and Harry was left, yet again, with nothing to do. He had read _Quidditch Through The Ages_ at least a billion times. He collapsed on his bed with a great sigh. He checked his watch – 3:52 PM. Harry groaned.

He _would_ go out in the rain but he only had his trainers to wear and no coat. His old coat he would wear during winter at Hogwarts had gotten mixed up in Dean’s things and he took it home by accident. He made sure he would remember to ask Sirius about getting rain boots and a new coat.

“ _Harry, could you come down here a moment?_ ” Remus called up the stairs. Harry froze, what if they wanted to send him back? He didn’t want to leave! He _knew_ he had been rude about the soup earlier, but he hadn’t meant it to be rude! Now he’d really messed up. Remus suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Oh, you’re awake! I thought you were sleeping. This weather really takes away all your energy, huh? Well, anyways, _I_ wanted to know if _you_ wanted to make a list for when you and Sirius go shopping.” Remus sat on the edge of Harry’s bed.

Harry’s mouth opened and shut a few times before he finally answered. “Uh, I’m not really sure what I want.”

“That’s alright. Are you hungry at all? Or thirsty? I can bring you a cup of tea or some biscuits. Or, if you’d prefer some fruit or something, I can do that, too.” Remus placed his hand on Harry’s shin in a soothing manner.

Harry did really want some tea, preferably caffeinated. He willed himself to say yes through the fear of being _annoying_ and bothersome. “Yes, please,” he croaked out weakly. Remus seemed to relax. He smiled warmly and stood.

“I’ll bring you your tea shortly. Relax, Harry.”

When Remus left Harry sighed, bored and slightly guilty. He decided to get up and help downstairs, it was the least he could do.

Downstairs, Sirius was planting something into an old cauldron. “Oh, hello Harry! You’re not allergic to pimpernels, right? I’m planting some.” He stood at the kitchen table.

“Um, no, I’m not.” Harry shook his head and walked over.

“Would you like to help?”

Harry nodded. “Brilliant. You can take my gloves. Just sprinkle the seeds all around and throw the dirt from that pot on top.”

Sirius shucked off the gloves and went to go grab his own cup of tea, sipping in big gulps. Harry found that he quite enjoyed gardening, it was very calming and kept his mind in one place.

“Here you are, Harry. I put a bit of milk in, I remember you telling me you liked it that way back in February. I was going to ask again, just to check in, but you weren’t down here when I was pouring.” Remus placed the tea far from the dirt and plants.

Harry’s heart swelled a bit. Remus _remembered_! He couldn’t help the flaming blush that spread across his face and the smile that followed. “That’s just how I like it.” Remus smiled back and spoke.

“I’m going to go read a bit, if you need me or anything, _please ask_.”

Harry nodded and went back to his planting.

“You know, your mother _loved_ milk in her tea.” Sirius spoke quietly. “She – she would always pour a bit into a separate glass and then into her mug while making it.” Harry smiled even more, overcome with happiness.

He didn’t respond, but nodded a bit. Harry poured the dirt over the flower seeds and then spread it around a bit. “I’m all finished.”

“Wonderful! I’m just gonna water them a bit and find somewhere to put them.”

“Could – could they go in _my_ room?” Harry asked tentatively. Something about plants calmed him. Perhaps it was that the Lupin-Black house was littered with plants. The foyer had large pots with peonies in them. The kitchen was filled with potted herbs and spices, some on top of the muggle refrigerator, some hanging above the sink, and some just on counters and the fireplace. Or maybe it was because of the nice smells – floral and earthy scents that attacked him pleasantly.

Sirius grinned, “of _course_ they can. Here--” Sirius cast an _Aguamenti_ charm on the pot and passed it to Harry, “you can take them upstairs. And then you can come back down and we can play chess or Exploding Snap until the weather clears up. Sounds good?” Harry nodded, happy. He rushed up the steps and gently places the cauldron on top of his dresser.

They ended up playing three games of Exploding Snap and a game and a half of chess before the weather cleared up around 5:40.

It was still wet outside, but the sun was shining through the clearing clouds. A double rainbow appeared in the sky. The backyard looked ethereal after the storm, soft light shining on the plants and overhanging weeping willows, making them look as if they were glowing. The flower petals cried, water droplets falling into the soil below. The toadstools growing shined in the new light. It took Harry’s breath away. “Sirius, Remus, look! A double rainbow!” He called. Sirius was already in the kitchen with him, and Remus rushed in.

“Wow, it’s beautiful, huh?” Remus smiled and looked at Harry, who was looking out the window above the sink, leaning over it.

“Can--” Before Harry could finish his sentence, a loud knock came from the front door.

“I’ll get it!” Harry said with a grin on his face, running from the kitchen.

Behind the front door was an old man holding a basket of treats and other nice things. “Oh, hello, you must be Harry, the nephew I’ve heard so much about from Remus!” He smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“Nephew?” Harry asked. Remus came rushing up behind Harry to greet the visitor.

“That was an easy way to describe our relationship Harry – it’s a bit depressing to say “my dead best friend’s orphan son,” now isn’t it? This is Mr. Candlenut, Harry, he lives just across from us. His house is the yellow one with the birdhouses in front,” Remus turned his attention back towards Mr. Candlenut, “How can I help you today?”

“Well, I saw you three arrive earlier out my ol’ window and I wanted to come meet the boy you were takin’ in. I brought a welcome basket – courtesy of Olive. There are some magical knickknacks in there, stuff I figured you wouldn’t have already. See – Remus told me you were livin’ with Muggles before. I even put in a couple o’ small potions. It’s a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ basket for you.”

Harry liked Mr. Candlenut, he reminded him of Hagrid quite a bit. This man was much older though and his hair was white. “Thank you so much, Mr. Candlenut! I can’t wait to check everything out!” Harry grinned.

“Oh, any time, Harry. Lemme tell you what, any time you want to make a couple o’ extra sickles, you come on over and I’ll let you watch the grandkids, okay?” Mr. Candlenut laughed heartily.

“Of course! Thank you, sir.”

Remus nodded away from the door, implying Harry should move so that he could speak to the man. He bounded up the stairs and placed the basket in the middle of his floor, sitting down with it.

“Look, Hedwig!”

The owl was in her cage (Harry realized he needed a stand for her cage, he couldn’t leave it on his desk all the time), staring outside into the now-clear sky.

“Ugh, fine, I get it, you want out.” Harry groaned halfheartedly, standing up.

He opened the bedroom window and then Hedwig’s cage, letting her fly out.

He was about to refocus his attention to the basket he had been given when stomps up the stairs were heard. Harry’s door flew open wider (it was only half open before) and Sirius, grinning like a mad man, appeared. The _Prophet_ came out!

“ _Sirius Orion Black declared innocent_!” Sirius read in a false posh voice, grinning,

Harry ran over and snatched the paper from his godfather, reading quickly.

**SIRIUS ORION BLACK DECLARED INNOCENT BY MINISTRY OF MAGIC AFTER ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN – TWELVE YEARS AFTER CRIME**

_Sirius Orion Black, 34, has been officially declared innocent of_ _the heinous crime of_ _murdering thirteen Muggles on November 1, 1981. Minister_ _of Magic_ _Cornelius_ _Fudge says the following, “_ Shortly after his capture on June 24th, Sirius Black was questioned using Veritaserum during a retrial requested by Headmaster Albus Pervical Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The findings concluded that Black was framed by Peter Pettigrew, the true culprit here.” _Instead of asking for money in compensation, Black has only requested_ _acquittal for escaping Azkaban and aquital for not registering as an Animagus – which he was granted._

 _On Peter Pettigrew and his crimes,_ _the_ _Minister_ _says, “_ We urge the public to keep watch for Pettigrew. He is an illegal Animagus and can transform into a rat. Pettigrew, in his rat form, stayed hidden for twelve years by posing as a family pet for the Weasley family.” _Arthur Weasley, who is an employee in the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office of the Ministry of Magic says this about his family living with Pettigrew for twelve years, “_ I am just very thankful that he is no longer in my house and can no longer harm my family. I am also thankful that we took him on our trip to Egypt last summer, because if he hadn’t been in the photo from the _Prophet_ , then Mr. Black would have never been able to expose him for what he really is – a monster.” _Weasley is referring to an article in a_ _July 1993 article of_ The Daily Prophet _which featured a Weasley family photo which Pettigrew was in. This copy of the_ Prophet _was given to Sirius Black by Minister Fudge. He then recognized his old school friend and escaped in order to hunt down Pettigrew, worried he would try to kill Harry Potter, Black’s godson. Ron Weasley, 14, the young wizard whose ‘pet’ Pettigrew was, says:_ “It was totally mad! I was terrified! I was holding Scabbers – that was what we called Peter Pettigrew – and Sirius Black, this _huge_ grim-looking dog comes and bites my leg, dragging me away! I thought he was going to kill me, but I was more afraid for Harry than for myself. I mean, everyone thought Sirius wanted to kill Harry and that he was a Death Eater. Thankfully we are all okay!” _Remus Lupin, who was also present on the night of June 24_ _th_ _, has refused to comment but has resigned from his position as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts amid rumors of lycanthropy, though these have not been confirmed or denied._ _The younger Weasley will be attending Hogwarts and beginning his fourth year with close friend Harry Potter in the fall._

_More information to come._

“Woah, that’s brilliant! Ron was in the _Prophet_!” Harry cried, bouncing. “ _And_ you’ve been cleared! That’s amazing!” Harry hugged Sirius tightly, squeezing him. Sirius squeezed back just as hard. He thought he heard a few sniffles and that suspicion was confirmed by the wet spot on his t-shirt.

“Well, then,” Sirius gathered himself a bit, “how about the three of us go shopping for you and then we can all go out to dinner, sound good?”

Harry nodded vigorously, _anything_ to get out of the house. Not that it was bad being there, it was just hot, stuffy, and _boring_.

“Come on, put on your trainers, we can all walk into the magical part of town and then Floo to a magical building in the Muggle part of town.”

“Why don’t we just Floo _to_ the Muggle part of town?” Harry asked, tilting his head a bit.

“I want to show you the village we live in, Harry. And walking is _good_ for you.” Sirius swiftly left the bedroom and walked down stairs, pausing to call up, “ _And hurry up, I want to get out of here!_ ”

Harry quickly forced his feet into the grey (formerly white) too-small shoes. He wanted to send an owl to Ron, but he had no parchment nor did he have an owl to send it with. He opened the window in his room so that Hedwig could get beck inside while he was gone and flew down the stairs.

Sirius was waiting for him, along with Remus. “Why are you so winded?” Remus asked, “I thought you were an _athlete_.” Remus laughed a bit, and Harry did, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this long-awaited installment. I would very much appreciate if you all could give some feedback and thoughts!


	4. Evening Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The small group goes shopping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally on Christmas break, so I can update more frequently!

They passed lots of houses, some big, some small, some crooked, some straight, on their way into the area of the village where people shopped. Harry, Sirius, and Remus chatted idly. Turns out, Remus had saved up for two years to buy that house and used all of the inheritance from his mother’s death.

They would occasionally pass a wizard on the street. Some would shake Sirius’ hand, but most would ask to shake Harry’s. Remus did not get much attention, which, after a group of young witches left giggling, he said he was happy with. The two men would ask Harry questions about himself like: ‘What’s your favorite color?’ (Red.) ‘How tall are you?’ (5’6”. Harry suspected that this was meant to be light teasing from Sirius, but it made him feel a bit insecure.) ‘What is your Quidditch Team?” (‘Gryffindor?’ ‘ No, Harry, which team do you root for?’) ‘How do you like your eggs?’ (Scrambled and cheesy.) ‘Which class is your favorite?’ (Defense Against the Dark Arts.) ‘Any girls you’re attracted to at school?’ (Harry went beet red at this question and mumbled out an untruthful _no_.)

The first shop the group stopped in was _Worldy Wizardry Trinkets_. Harry thought the shop was fascinating, nothing like the bland home goods shops the Dursleys would shop at. Harry saw all sorts of cool things – from broomsticks and children’s Quidditch supplies to chess sets to large binoculars with cranks and buttons! The only thing purchased there was a jar for Remus’ pushpins.

The second shop visited was a clothing shop where Harry finally got the rain coat he’d wanted to get (a mustard-yellow hooded coat that fell past his knees) along with five pairs of shoes that _fit_!! Five!! Sirius had bought him a brown fur-lined coat along with new dragon hide gloves. They had bought him a few sets of dress robes as well.

The third shop was probably Harry’s favorite. _Dovetail Quidditch_. It was a large brick building with a flat above it and vines growing along the walls. Inside was filled with Quidditch supplies! There was a group of kids his age staring at the Firebolt locked behind a cage. Harry browsed the shop with Sirius. Remus, who had little interest in Quidditch, had opted to go look at the bookstore across the way.

Sirius pointed out a few noteworthy things like broom polish, broom stands and mounts, extra gear like mouth guards and large helmets. Sirius bought a broom stand for Harry, along with a Quidditch set of his own, so they could play together if Harry pleased.

They met up with Remus in a menagerie next door where they purchased a curtain for Hedwig’s cage along with a stand to hang her cage from. Harry was enthralled by the Kneazles in cages. He gave Remus a subtle pleading look after spending a while staring at a particular brown one. Remus picked up on it and shook his head, moving across the shop to look at the owls.

Harry was exhausted by the time they reached the Floo destination where they’d travel to the other side of the village, more inland, where the few Muggles in town lived. Remus had sent Sirius home with their purchases and the owl Remus had adopted for him and Sirius to send letters (which they currently had no way to do. Remus had been borrowing the neighbor’s owl.)

They Flooed into a small magical pub and exited into a street with a few cars and Muggles speaking on mobile phones.

They only hit two shops – a home goods store and a clothing shop. The home goods store was where Remus insisted Harry let him buy him quite a few things. He bought Harry many picture frames, sunglasses, a toothbrush, a hairbrush, wipes for his glasses, a few plants, a small bookshelf that would reach his hip once assembled, a rubbish bin, and a nice rug, among other things. Harry seriously wondered how they would carry all this home! He also wondered where this money, Muggle money, was coming from, as Remus was very much impoverished.

The clothing shop Harry went to alone, while Remus carried the things from the other shop into the magical pub. It was dark by then, the moon high in the sky. Harry had thrown a few items of clothing into a basket by the time Remus came into the store and found him. “I’ve shrunk it all down and put it in my satchel.” Remus shook his brown bag a bit for emphasis, a relaxed smile on his face.

“Wonderful. I don’t know what to buy.” Harry said bluntly.

“Oh, I wish Sirius were here, he is much better with clothing than I am. He would come back, but I send him to get you some stationary.” Remus sounded a but concerned. Harry didn’t really get fashion, simply opting to wear whatever he had clean at the moment.

The two of them looked through the clothing, throwing stuff into the basket and eventually a shopping trolley. Harry got lots of clothing, which he was extremely grateful for, as he had never had much to begin with.

It was only around ten o’clock that they got back home, Flooing right from the pub into the house. Remus spoke in a whisper, “Sirius is probably asleep upstairs, so we should be very quiet.”

They carried the bags up to Harry’s bedroom. Harry felt elated, this was the first time someone had spent money on him – non-begrudgingly. His relatives would buy him shoes every once in a while but complain the whole time.

The second Remus left him alone in his bedroom, Harry felt loads of guilt creeping up his spine. Remus was _poor_ and Harry had just made him spend all this money on _him_! Harry felt tears welling up not for the first time that day. _God_ , he was so _stupid_! His new guardians spend all this money on him to get him all these nice new things and he comes home and cries! A few tears spilled out and Harry sat gently on his bed. This always happened to him. He would be so happy, on top of the world, but the second it all ended, it was like he would come crashing back down into sadness.

He needed a distraction. He sat on his floor, opening up the bags and removing things. He had gotten more coat hangers, so he hung up his new coats on them with his dress robes. He neatly folded his new clothing and put it away. Tears gushed out of his eyes the whole time. He sniffled weakly. He put his packets of parchment, ink, and quills in his desk. He hung Hedwig’s empty cage on the extendable stand that was as tall as he was. She had not returned. His Firebolt was put on its stand in the corner next to his desk – his books were pushed out of the way. He put his sunglasses in a small keepsake storage box with a Hippogriff carving on it (he had a mournful thought for Buckbeak), then on top of his desk. Harry framed the photograph of him and his friends.

There was a big blue comforter in a bag with a set of white sheets. Through the sobs that wracked his thin body, Harry stripped his bed of everything and began to pull the sheets onto the mattress, then onto the pillows. He made his bed all nice and laid back on it. _Why_ was he so _pathetic_? Harry didn’t understand. He cried for a little while longer and then wiped his eyes on the old sheet. He rolled them into a gross ball and placed them outside his door.

The raven haired boy finished putting his things away, leaving the furniture for the next day, and put the unopened Candlenut basket atop his dresser. Harry changed into _Puddlemere United_ pajamas, and slipped under the covers of his bed after turning his light off. He lied there for a while, silently. He was no longer crying, thankfully, but he was feeling a but gross after having not brushed his teeth.

Harry sighed, irritated with himself, and climbed out of his bed, grabbing his toothbrush on the way out. He tip-toed into the bathroom. It was small with a claw foot bathtub-shower combination, a toilet, a cabinet, a mirror, and a sink. Harry clutched his new toothbrush in his hand, seeing two tubes of toothpaste on the sink. He felt conflicted. What if one of them was special and only meant for its purchaser? He didn’t want to use Sirius’ or Remus’ personal toothpaste without permission, so in order to find out which one to use, he decided to ask.

Harry walked quietly and lightly to the closed door that was… Sirius’ bedroom? Where _did_ Remus sleep? Harry looked around. There were only three doors on the floor and no visible attic entrance. They must share a room – more guilt entered Harry. He took up an entire bedroom when Remus could have his own! Harry pushed the thought out of mind and lightly knocked upon the door.

Silence.

Harry knocked again, a bit louder.

Silence.

The boy rolled his eyes and sighed, opening the door, what he saw was confusing to say the least.

There was a magical candle Harry had seen at the Burrow burning. One that would go out on its own when it felt like it. This candle provided light to see something that scrambled Harry’s brain.

It was Sirius and Remus – in the same bed – _cuddling_? They were both asleep, but Sirius had his arms wrapped around Remus’ middle. They were both shirtless from what Harry could see due to the blanket.

Oh _no_! Could they not afford a second bed for the bedroom? Is that why they had to share? Harry truly did feel awful.

But it seemed that the light from the hallway was enough to awake Sirius.

“Harry…?” He moaned out, clearly tired. “What’s wrong, mate? What time is it?”

“Um,” Harry was dumbfounded. To make everything worse, Remus began to stir as well.

“Padfoot, darling, go back to sleep.” Remus turned to face Sirius in bed. He did not seem to notice Harry in the doorway and he slowly planted a slew of gentle kisses on Sirius’ _neck_! Harry was beyond confused, his mind racing a thousand miles a minute.

“No, not now, Moony, Harry needs something.” Sirius gently pushed the werewolf away.

“Oh, _Merlin_!” Remus sounded scandalized.

“I – I --” Harry’s mouth opened and shut repeatedly, unsure of what to say in response to this. ‘I was just wondering what toothpaste to use…”

“Just use whichever,” Sirius said and laid back in bed. “Goodnight, Harry.”

Harry quickly turned and left the room. _What the hell?!_ He knew Sirius and Remus were close – they were best friends – but he’d never cuddled with Ron! Nor did he kiss Ron’s neck! Perhaps this was something that adult friends did?

Harry brushed his teeth for much longer than was required while thinking of what to do about this. He couldn’t just ask what was going on, that would be rude. He decided to never bring it up again.

He crawled back into bed afterwards and fell asleep, thoughts of poverty and guilt replaced by pure exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and leave your thoughts and criticisms.


	5. Letters and Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry meets another neighbor and sends a letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the kind comments! I would reply to them, but I honestly don't know what to say, apart form "thank you" and "I'm glad you enjoy" but I feel that that is a bit impersonal. I do read every comment I receive, so please do not feel ignored!
> 
> Quite a few of the comments of last chapter were about how oblivious Harry is, I think that it's less obliviousness and more of confusion and denial. Subconsciously, Harry probably knows they are more than just friends -- but he is extremely unobservant. 
> 
> Another thing I am sure nobody nut me is frustrated with: the layout of the house. In my mind I have one house layout and that is a hall that a house enters into with a large doorway to the left that leads into the living room, straight down the hall is the kitchen and to the right in the hall, facing straight, are stairs that lead up.   
> I try to make that not the layout of this house, so I have tried to make it not specific. If you read though with this layout in mind, you'll see what I mean. Again, I know I am the only one who cares in the slightest. You don't need to picture this as the layout of the house, because I quite frankly don't want it to be, I am just incapable of writing anything else. Lmao. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

Harry had grown up not having much. He was treated badly by his relatives, not that he didn’t deserve it, he just wished it didn’t happen. His clothing never fit right and he never ate enough. He lived under a staircase for ten years and then was given a tiny bedroom with more locks on the door than pieces of furniture in the room.

These were things Harry did not like to think about. He had to remind himself quite often that this was all in the past. ‘Quite often’ as in at least once every two hours after moving in with Remus and Sirius.

Harry awoke on his second day living in Old Graham Hill to Hedwig asleep in her cage and bright sunlight streaming through his bedroom. Bits of dust particles floated in the lit area of the room. His door was open and a pleasant smell wafted up to his bedroom.

Downstairs, Harry discovered Remus chopping something on the counter and Sirius drinking tea while reading the _Prophet_ at the kitchen table. It was an awfully domestic scene Harry felt odd intruding upon.

“Morning, Harry! I’m making eggs with leeks and asparagus for breakfast. It won’t be ready for a little while, so you can relax for now.” Remus said. He was fully dressed for the day while Sirius was in his pajamas. Harry nodded, the smell of floral tea making him feel nice. The clock above the mantle said the time was 7:03.

“Is there anything I should be doing?” Harry asked, slightly confused.

Remus mirrored his look, “no, should there be? Would you like me to give you something to do?”

Sirius, who had been engrossed in an article, noticed Harry’s presence in the kitchen. “Good morning, Harry! Did you sleep well?” Harry nodded to Sirius, though Remus must have though Harry was nodding to both questions.

“Well, you can go pick the leeks for me out front, how does that sound?” Remus smiled.

Harry was happy to feel useful. “That sounds great! Are they labeled?” A burst of confidence had him feeling more awake.

“Yes they are, I will need about three or four.” Remus snatched a woven basket from a cabinet and passed it to Harry.

Harry spun on his heel and went to his room to get dressed – he slipped into comfortable clothing and his new trainers, brushed his teeth and hair, and exited to the front porch.

There was a gardening kit on the front steps. Harry snatched it up and walked through one of three parallel pre-made path in the front yard until he saw a small ornate wooden sign that said “ _Leeks_ ”.

Harry did not know how to pick vegetables. He didn’t even know what leeks _were_. They were long, thick, green stick-like vegetables. Harry picked up a shovel and knelt on the dirt. Before he began to dig, the front door of the house to Harry’s left, while facing the house, opened. Harry turned to look.

Out stepped no other than _Cho Chang_. Cho Chang was the seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Harry’s jaw dropped open. _She_ lived here?! Harry had first seen her during the match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor the previous school year. She was _beautiful_.

Cho wore an airy white sundress and a straw boater hat. Almost as if she could feel his eyes on her, she turned towards Harry. Her eyes lit up and she walked to the edge of her front gate that faced Harry. “Hello, Harry! I had no idea you lived here.” She called.

Harry scrambled to stand up, brushing the dirt off of his knees. “I, um, moved here y-yesterday.” He smiled, though he quickly stopped because he didn’t want Cho to see that one slightly crooked tooth he had. Harry’s face must have been as red as the nail polish she wore.

“But I thought your relatives were Muggles, or at least that’s what the _Daily Prophet_ said about them.” Cho tilted her head, her thin black bangs tilting with it.

“I don’t live with them anymore.” Harry managed to get out, “I live with my godfather now. And Professor Lupin.”

Cho raised her eyebrows, “Isn’t your godfather Sirius Black? That’s what the _Daily Prophet_ said last night, I read it, you know!” She seemed excited and interested.

Harry felt cool. “Yeah, he is. Him, Professor Lupin, and my father were pretty close before… y’know.”

“That’s wicked.” She said, a blush upon her cheeks. “So, what are you up to?”

Harry looked back to the gardening things left out. “I’m picking leeks, whatever those are,” he laughed.

Cho laughed too, “I _love_ leeks! They’re sort of like onions. What are you making with them?”

Harry wasn’t really making anything, Remus was. “I’m making eggs with leeks and asparagus. I love to cook.” The lies just spilled right out and Harry did _not_ feel bad or guilty for once. Lying came to him easily, like when he boarded the Knight Bus last summer and told Stan Shunpike his name was Neville.

“i love to cook, too. We should make something sometime.”

“Yeah, we-- we should.”

Cho blushed. “Well, I, um, I’m gonna-- I’m gonna go to the market now. I’ll see you around, Harry.” Cho spun on her heel and walked out of her front yard and down the sidewalk without sparing another glance at Harry.

Harry turned his attention back towards the leeks when Sirius’ head popped out from the open window above the garden. “You _dirty liar_.”

Harry let out an embarrassing shriek, falling back onto his elbows. “Were – were you there the _whole time_?!”

“You were taking a while, I decided to come see what the wait was or if you needed any help. Turns out you _do_! ‘Oh, Cho, I _love_ to cook! Marry me! Have my children!’” Sirius mocked Harry and laughed.

“It’s not funny!” Harry moaned, beginning to dig up the leeks.

“Of course it is! So, are you going to ask her out?” Sirius leaned out the window on his elbows.

Harry ignored him, placing the leeks into the basket. His face must have been _so_ red. He entered the house again, walking straight towards the kitchen, ignoring Sirius. “Listen, Harry, I’m sorry. Really.” He said with a slight laugh.

Remus turned towards Harry as he entered, “Oh thank _Merlin_ you’re alright!” He encased him in a hug. Harry froze, not used to this sort of thing. Remus took the basket and began to wash the leeks.

When Remus turned around Harry whipped towards Sirius behind him, “Not a word.” He said through clenched teeth.

Harry stomped upstairs, irritated. He wasn’t angry with Sirius, he was embarrassed that Sirius had heard his poor, _poor_ attempts at flirting with an older girl. Trying to take his mind off of Cho, Harry sat himself at his desk and pulled out some parchment. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, there was absolutely no _way_ Ron would be awake. Hermione, maybe, but Ron, no.

He unwrapped a new ostrich quill from its paper package and opened a new jar of ink. He began to write his letter to Ron:

_Dear Ron,_

_Yesterday Professor Lupin, who has requested I now call him Remus, picked me up from my aunt and uncle’s house. Guess where they live… Devon! I’m not sure how far Old_ ~~ _Gram_~~ _Graham hill is from Ottery St. Catchpole, but I hope they’re close. It was pouring like mad yesterday, did you get it too? It poured from Surrey to Devon, so maybe you did. The house they live in is nice. They as in Remus and Sirius. I like it a lot here, after the Evening Prophet came out yesterday we went shopping. I have_ got _to show you the Chocolate Frog Card I got!!_

_Speaking of the Prophet, you were in it!!! I’m not sure if you read the article apart from the headline, but they used your quotes in it. I bet Percy is livid that you’re getting attention for once. You deserve it!_

_Remus and Sirius have a garden here, and they grow all sorts of good things. Did you know that you can make soup out of dandelions? I had some yesterday. Maybe instead of me visiting you, you could visit me this summer! Or both, who knows. My bedroom is quite nice. I have a nice spot for Hedwig’s cage and for my broom. I’m not sure where you would sleep, because I don’t think we have any cots._

_Guess who lives next door – Cho Chang! I’m not sure if you know who she is, but she’s the Ravenclaw seeker in the year above us. Oh my God, Ron, she’s so hot. Today we spoke about cooking while I was picking vegetables for breakfast. Across the street is this old wizard who gave me a cool gift basket to welcome me here. His name is Mr. Candlenut. I haven’t opened the basket yet so I’m not sure what’s in it, but I’m sure it’s gonna be wicked._

_I want to send you photos, but I don’t have a camera. I think I am going to have S or R take me to Gringotts to take some money out of my vault. Perhaps I can sent you some souvenirs from this place. S and R say it’s mostly wizards – which it is. The Muggle part of town has only a few buildings though I haven’t seen any houses._

_I’m sending this letter with Hedwig, and you can use her to send your reply back since Errol is so old._

_Yours Truly,_

_Harry :)_

Harry considered telling Ron about what he saw last night, but he decided against it. Harry wasn’t sure why. He folded the letter and tied it with twine, then around Hedwig’s leg. He’d scribbled _Ron Weasley, The Burrow_ onto the envelope. “Take it to Ron and wait for a reply.” He said to her, opening the window and watching the snowy owl fly off.

“ _Harry, breakfast is ready!_ ” Remus called.

Harry hurried to eat. The meal was good, very good, and he wondered why Dudley hated vegetables so much.

Around nine, Hedwig returned to Harry’s surprise. There was a letter tied her leg, and Harry assumed it was the letter to Ron and perhaps they were all still asleep.

The envelope did not say _Ron Weasley, The Burrow_ , though. It said _Harry Potter, Old Graham Hill_.

He opened the envelope and read the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_It’s very early, and I’m quite surprised you’re up. Well, actually I’m more surprised that_ I’m _up. I’m not sure when you sent this, but GO BACK TO SLEEP!! I have to be up since my family has to be questioned at the Ministry regarding ~~Sc~~ Pettigrew at nine. My dad says we aren’t suspect or anything, they just want to know more about the whole situation. Don’t tell anyone, but my dad heard from some Ministry friends that Bathilda Bagshot wants to write a book about this whole ordeal. _

_I believe Old Graham Hill is quite close to us. About a forty-five minute drive in a Muggle car – I only know because my dad’s brother lived there and we would visit on holidays when I was little. Since Lupin drives, you should come over this week!_

_And you’re absolutely right, Percy was being a prat about the interview. Mum had to shout at him because he had a shit attitude. Talking about how Pettigrew was originally his rat. Thank you for the congratulations._

_I don’t know Cho Chang but I do remember that she’s a right seeker. I think you should totally go for it. Summer goal: snog Cho?_

_I’ve got to go now, Mum has been shouting for the past ten minutes at me, saying I’m taking too long to get ready. I’m sure she won’t be upset after she finds out you live so close by and that I was writing to you._

_Ron_

Harry was delighted to know that Ron lived so close. He reread the letter a few times, dearly missing Ron. He hadn’t spoken to him since right after school ended and he confided in him and Hermione on the train that he was going to be moving in with Remus and Sirius.

Harry placed the letter in the box on his dresser, then flopped onto his bed, bored. He was never this bored at the Dursleys’ – not that he missed it there whatsoever. They just always had stuff for him to do – cooking or cleaning.

The hours passed by with Harry doing absolutely nothing, staring at the bags on his floor that still needed to be unloaded. He was just _lazy_. Harry sat up from his half sleeping state around eleven and went downstairs to ask Sirius about helping assemble the book case and the nightstand.

To his dismay, Harry caught Sirius and Remus in another compromising position – lying upon each other in the living room, _cuddling_ under a blanket while a film played on the telly. The two men were asleep.

Harry ran out of the parlor and upstairs as quietly and as quickly as possible. Without thinking too much about the consequences, Harry knocked over the two boxes that held the furniture, making a very loud bang. Before he could reprimand himself for awaking the adults, he heard running coming up the stairs.

His door burst open, Sirius looking alarmed with his wand held out. His hair was quite messy. A few seconds later, Remus, out of breath, appeared behind him. “Harry! Are you alright?!” Sirius asked. Harry felt bad for scaring them so badly. But he did not want to wake them up and have them know he’d seen them.

“N-no! I was juts trying to assemble the, uh, things myself.”

Remus sighed, relieved and pointed his wand at the two things and muttered a spell Harry did not know. Before he noticed, in place of the boxes were a night table and a short book case.

“Oh. Well, thank you.”

“If you need help, Harry, _please_ ask us. Would you like us to help you move them?”

Harry shook his head. “Sorry.”

Sirius smiled sweetly, “Don’t worry about it. Is there anything else you need?”

Harry shook head head again. The duo bid him goodbye and went back downstairs. The bookcase ended up on the wall his door was on, across from his bed. The night table ended up to the right of his bed.

They were both natural wood, not painted. The books on the floor were put away, the extra things that he hadn’t put away yet were as well. The bedroom was clean and Harry remembered something he had mentioned to Ron. A camera!

He didn’t consider it prior. He only thought of getting himself a camera after seeing the photo of him and his friends. He missed them dearly.

Harry stood from the edge of his bed, where he noticed he’d spent a lot of time the past two days, and went to speak to Sirius and Remus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, I believe, the longest I have written. This chapter may feel a bit slow and boring, but I enjoyed writing it. Please comment! I enjoy them immensely!


	6. Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abuse is spoken of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy!

Diagon Alley was bustling with life – witches and wizards of all backgrounds walked, talked, shopped, and tended stores. Harry hadn’t been there in a while and he forgot how much he missed it. The one part he didn’t miss was the attention. It wasn’t as bad as when he was eleven and fresh into the wizarding world. But as he and Sirius walking from the Leaky Cauldron where they had eaten lunch to Gringotts Bank, there were multiple times when they were stopped so a wizard could thank Harry for saving them all.

Before they reached the bank, Sirius pulled Harry aside under a striped awning. “Harry, how about I just buy you your camera. I imagine you want to get out of here as soon as possible?”

Harry kissed his teeth and considered, “Aren’t you and Remus… poor?” He asked.

Sirius laughed a bit. “Remus has a very hard time holding a job due to his condition. Wizarding jobs – they figure out after the first few months that he’s a _werewolf,_ ” Sirius whispered the last word. “Muggle jobs – he needs to request time off every month, which gets old and annoying quick. He gets fired. Since he was fired from his last job, he has trouble finding another one. Well, that cycle repeats itself and it makes it very, _very_ difficult for him to find a job. Me, on the other hand, I just got exonerated for bloody _murder_ yesterday, I haven’t really had a chance to get a job.”

“So, yes, you’re poor. I feel very bad when you buy me things. Especially since I have a whole vault of gold.”

“Let me finish. I support both Remus and I. This is because – Well, Harry, I come from a very wealthy pureblood family. They’re terrible people. Y’know what the Black family motto is? ‘ _Always pure_ ’ in French. My brother is dead and so is my father. This means that when my mother died, I inherited everything. Harry, I have more money than I know what to do with. So, no, we are not poor. Remus and I are a family, my money is his money, and vice versa – regardless of how guilty he feels buying groceries with it.”

Harry felt an enormous weight lift off of his shoulders. “I feel so much better, now. But I’m so sorry your family is dead. I mean, I never even got to know _my_ parents.”

Sirius laughed and threw his arm over Harry’s shoulders, guiding him towards a shop that would have cameras. “Harry, my family sucked. My mother was terrible to me. I know you think those Muggles were bad – which they were.”

Harry cut him off, “What – what makes you think they were _ba_ _d_?” He stiffened like a board.

Sirius stopped after turning down a less busy street off of Diagon Alley and sat on a bench with Harry, his hands on his shoulders. “Look, Remus told me not to say anything, but I know your uncle hit you, Harry.”

Tears sprang to Harry’s eyes and they went wide. His whole body tensed and his heart doubled in speed. “Wha…” He was at a loss for words. “No, no he didn’t.”

“Harry, you don’t need to lie. You think I didn’t notice you flinched when I put my arm around you? Or how you looked like you’d seen a ghost when Remus hugged you? He told me about the locks on the door in Surrey. Harry, we _love you_. We notice these things. I was abused too growing up. My mother would torture me, Harry. Literally _torture me_. I know how it feels.” Sirius held Harry’s hands.

Before Harry could respond, Sirius stood. “I think we should talk about this more when we get home, but for now, lets go buy you that camera, yeah?” Harry wiped his eyes on his sleeve and nodded wordlessly.

Had he really been that obvious? He felt so embarrassed. Harry hardly paid attention when they walked into a store. Sirius showed him an array of cameras, “Well, Harry, pick out whichever one you would like.”

Harry suddenly felt vindictive. How _dare_ Sirius bring this up in _public_?! The irritation from that morning returned with a passion. He picked out the most expensive camera he saw and shoved it towards Sirius. “This one,” he mumbled.

It angered Harry even more when Sirius seemed happy and checked out without a problem. They walked in silence back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry ignoring anyone who wanted to speak with him.

Once they Flooed back into the cottage in Devon, Harry stomped out of the living room and into his bedroom, slamming the door as loud as he could. _God_ , Sirius was an _asshole_! He flopped onto his bed. Sirius had _no clue_ what he was talking about! Harry was _not_ abused and Sirius was – someone knocked on Harry’s door.

“Go away!” He shouted into his pillow.

The door opened slowly. “Harry, please come downstairs.” Remus’ soothing voice said.

“No!”

“You left your camera, please come get it. I’ve even started some tea, and I know you like how I make your tea.”

Harry turned over. Remus had a worried expression on his face. “Come on,” he said quietly, jerking his head towards the exit of the bedroom. Harry begrudgingly got up and followed him into the living room.

Sirius was not in the room. The camera was in a paper bag on the coffee table. Harry sat slowly onto an armchair.

“No, come sit over here. I want to see your camera.” Remus sat on one side of the couch, patting the middle seat. He picked up the bag and sat next to his former teacher. Harry slowly removed the camera from the bag. It was in a purple box with blue and orange text on it outlined in white. He turned the box in his hands, looking at it and showing it to Rems.

“You’ll _have_ to let me borrow it sometime, I have an aunt in Kent who would love pictures from us.” Remus sat cross legged facing Harry.

“I believe Hermione lives in Kent.” He muttered.

Sirius reentered the room holding three cups of tea on a larger plate. He sat on Harry’s other side.

“Yours is the red cup. I know you like red, so I picked that one.:

Harry nodded.

“Would you like to talk about it?” Remus asked quietly.

Harry knew what he was talking about. He decided to play dumb, “What, my camera?”

“No, Harry, those Muggles you used to live with.” The mood of the room had become tender and quiet. Harry had fallen into a trick. Perhaps he knew deep down that it was a trap to talk to him, but chose to ignore it.

“There’s nothing _to_ talk about.” He kept his gaze trained on the floor.

Sirius decided to speak, “Harry, I saw how you reacted when I brought it up. You were a deer caught in the headlights. I know that --”

“You don’t know anything! You’re just trying to project your shit home life growing up onto me! Move on with your life!” He turned towards Sirius and snapped.

“Harry, calm down --” Remus began.

“No! I wont’ ‘calm down’! You – you have me move here and you take care of me just to corner me and act like I was some poor abused child! And for _what_?! To feel _good_ about yourselves? I get it, your lives _suck_! That doesn’t mean mine has to, too!” Harry put his camera back on the table and stood up, turning towards the men. “I’m not a charity case!”

Remus closed his eyes and sighed. “I saw your health records in the Hospital Wing last year. Madam Pomfrey records past injuries and such, too, did you know that?”

Harry didn’t respond.

“I was concerned. You mentioned your uncle a few times in passing. Your father met the man once and he told me he was _vile_. I asked Pomfrey if you had confided in her, she said no, but that there were a few worrisome things she had noticed. Please sit back down.”

Harry, afraid of what he was going to hear, sat back down. Remus stood and pulled a folder out of a drawer. He returned and opened it.

“Pomfrey would kill me if she knew I duplicated these, but I knew that if I felt things were getting worse for you there, I was going to fight for you in court. I was going to need these. But once Sirius was cleared, and we learned you would be coming to live with us, I cried. I was so relieved. I knew I wasn’t going to have to go fight them for custody of you.”

“You – you wanted me?” Harry asked.

Remus nodded. “When you first came to Hogwarts, you were four foot seven inches. That’s quite short for an eleven year old boy.”

“I’m short. Big deal.” Harry’s eyes stung with unshed tears.

“You weighed fifty-seven pounds – which is severely underweight. And I can promise you that if you stepped on a scale now, you would still be underweight. It’s unhealthy.”

Harry didn’t respond, couldn’t.

“Last night – Sirius asked how tall you were. You said 5’6. Harry, you are _not_ 5’6. I haven’t measured or anything, but I can promise you you’re much shorter. I’d say probably 5’2 to 5’4.”

Sirius spoke up, “I hope you don’t feel insecure about your height. It’s not your fault, Harry. It’s those Muggles’ fault – they didn’t feed you enough, Harry. They neglected you.” He placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder, Harry jumped.

“Harry, I’m going to cut to the chase, Pomfrey recorded past broken ribs. Not a whole lot, just two. She wrote that she feels you were either abused or neglected. That they beat you or didn’t pay enough attention to you and allowed you to get hurt so badly. One rib didn’t even heal correctly.”

Harry broke out in sobs. He couldn’t help it! He remembered when Uncle Vernon broke his ribs, he didn’t know they had broken until then. He buried his face into his hands.

“He – he – I --” He couldn’t finish his sentence. “They didn’t feed me!” He cried. Sirius pulled him into a hug and Harry cried into his chest. “I – I was always c-cooking and – and – and cleaning! They hated me!” He couldn’t breathe. It felt good to let it all out, to have someone to listen to him.

“It’s alright, it’s all over with now.” Sirius whispered to him. Harry wiped his eyes on Sirius’ shoulder and pulled back. Remus must have put the papers he had away.

“Harry, how those people treated you was not normal.” Remus said gently. “They should have fed you, watched over you, taken care of you.”

Harry nodded, looking at his hands in his lap. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, dear. You haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t want you to be nervous around us, we care for you and we love you.” Remus placed his hand on Harry’s knee.

“We aren’t going to hit you or starve you. If there’s anything you need, _anything_ , we want you to feel like you can come to us.” Sirius said. “We enjoy taking care of you, believe it or not.”

Harry looked up. He noticed a few dried tears on Sirius’ cheek. “Really?” He whispered.

Sirius grabbed Harry’s cheeks gently and planted a kiss on his forehead, “Really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments with reviews and criticisms! I love to hear feedback.


	7. Ron's Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Ron see each other and speak about Sirius' and Remus' odd behavior.

The days blurred together, filled with gardening, writing letters, playing chess, watching films, and taking walks. He felt at peace, for the first time in a while. The neighborhood was calm and serene. Harry enjoyed sitting on the porch chair in the mornings with a blanket and a cup of tea. The smell of the dew on the grass in the early morning made Harry almost fall back asleep once.

Harry didn’t see Cho much, only in passing, which he was somewhat thankful for, as Sirius would definitely begin to tease him again if he even _saw_ Harry look her way. He liked Cho, but perhaps their relationship would grow better in a setting without one Sirius Black.

On the Tuesday after Harry moved in, the Candlenuts came over for dinner. It was quite good and Harry was on the edge of his seat listening to the patriarch’s stories from his youth. (He was a Slytherin who was the reserve keeper in the 1880s. This was also the day that Harry learned that wizarding lifespans were far, far longer than Muggle ones. While Muggles were lucky to reach their 90s, wizards would easily live to see their 150s or even 200s. Mr. Candlenut was almost 125 years old!)

Soon, the week passed and it was Thursday, exactly a week since Harry arrived. That Thursday was sunny and overwhelmingly hot, a stark contrast to the Thursday prior. Remus left early that morning to go buy some potion ingredients, according to Sirius. Harry sent a letter Ron around ten, asking about his plans for the day.

The Lupin-Potter-Black schedule was empty for the day, as was Ron’s, so by one o’clock, Harry was eagerly standing in front of the parlor fireplace awaiting Ron. (“I thought we were going to drive?” “Harry, I can’t drive. Remus can, but I cannot.”)

Harry made sure to clean his plain and boring room (twice!) and water all the plants in the house – which was a _lot_. He swept the whole house and forced Sirius to cast plenty of cooling charms in every room.

The fireplace suddenly roared to life and out stepped Ron, dressed in short orange robes and Muggle trainers. “Ron!” Harry exclaimed and hugged his friend. It hadn’t been long since they had last seen each other, but Harry was very excited to see Ron and show him how much better Sirius and Remus were than the Dursleys. He knew Ron didn’t like his aunt and uncle, constantly voicing his thoughts when they came up in conversation. (“Your aunt sounds like a cunt.” Ron said one night in their dorm – a party had been raging downstairs in the common room and third years were not allowed. “ _RONALD!”_ Hermione had shrieked, “Watch your mouth before I tell your mother!”)

“Harry! I’ve missed you!” Ron pulled back and looked around the living room. “This place is wicked! _Woah_ , you’ve got a television? That’s so cool!”

They fell into conversation, sitting on the couch. Sirius was outside – apparently working on his tan. Harry considered again telling Ron about Remus’ and Sirius’ odd behavior. He needed to tell _someone_! Hermione was definitely an option, but Harry didn’t want to tell her for some reason that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Harry finally decided to bring it up when Ron brought up staying over.

“Hey, maybe I could spend the night next week. You always stay at my place over the summer, not that I don’t like having you over, because I _definitely do_.” Ron said. His freckles seemed more pronounced, he had clearly been spending copious amounts of time outside.

“Um, I don’t think you can. We don’t have an extra cot – well, I don’t think we do. You see, last week, I was going to brush my teeth, but I didn’t know which toothpaste to use, so I went into tho other bedroom to ask Remus. But here’s the thing – he and Sirius were in bed – _together_. Sirius woke up and then Remus did and was kissing him _on the neck_! And get this – also last week, they were sleeping on the couch together, cuddling under a blanket. And yesterday I saw them hugging but it was for a _long time_. They didn’t even know I was there!”

"I can sleep on the couch. Or on the floor.” Ron said, shrugging.

“Ron! Did you not hear what I just said?” Harry asked, exasperated.

“Harry, maybe they’re… y’know…” Ron said, eyes bearing into Harry’s.

“No! I don’t know, that’s my problem!” Harry was very frustrated, what did Ron know that he didn’t?

“Perhaps they’re poofs?” Ron asked.

“ _Poofs_?” Harry practically shouted, confused. “What is that?”

“A poof is a man who shags other men. Maybe they’re like, together. _Together,_ together. Boyfriends or whatever.”

Harry laughed. “No way, Ron. Sirius was talking to Remus during lunch on Tuesday and Remus mentioned Sirius’ ex-girlfriend. Her name was Marlene, and he used the word girlfriend specifically.”

“Oh.” Harry could tell that the gears in Ron’s head were turning and he wanted to say more. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Harry. Want to play chess?”

So they did, and Harry’s mind was focused on chess, not the prospect of Remus’ and Sirius’ homosexuality. The day drew on and Sirius eventually came back into the parlor.

“Good afternoon, boys. Ron, how have you been?” Sirius was soaking wet, drying off with a towel, hair dripping water onto the floor.

“I’ve been good, not very busy, which is how I like it.” Ron moved his knight.

Sirius laughed. “I feel the same way. How’s your leg been? Sorry, again.”

“Ugh, don’t worry about it. I was still a bit sore afterwards so I got out of de-gnoming the garden, so I should be saying thank you.” Ron looked up to Sirius standing next to him.

“Well you’re welcome,” Sirius said, then turned his attention towards Harry, “I’m going to go shower, I went swimming at the beach a few blocks away, so I’m all gross. If you need anything, just holler.” He placed his hand affectionately on Harry’s head, which was at about hip level, as Harry was sitting on the floor, and walked off.

Ron left at about five after receiving an owl from his mother to do so. They promised to meet up again soon and bid each other goodbye.

Remus got back around nine. Harry had been at the top of the steps, somewhat hidden by the shadows, so Remus and Sirius did not see Harry.

Remus was holding a few bags. Sirius walked up to him and took a few from his arms. “Thank you, dear.” He said. Then, Sirius pressed a kiss to Remus’ lips and led him into the kitchen. Harry’s mind reeled, but within minutes, the two returned to hang up Remus’ jacket.

“Have you had dinner?” Remus asked quietly.

“Yes, Harry and I managed to make some simple recipe from one of your cookbooks.” Sirius laughed a bit.

“Good, I ate while I was out. I would have preferred you with me. We haven’t gone out in an eternity. Perhaps tomorrow night we can go to Soho and leave Harry here alone, yeah?” Remus suggested, putting his coat on the rack. The two moved into the living room and Harry traveled down a few more steps so he could see them.

“Mm, sounds good. But you know what else we could do instead?” Sirius asked, sitting with Remus on the couch, throwing his arm around his shoulders.

“Hm?”

“Send Harry to the Weasleys’ to that you and I can have some alone time.” Sirius smirked.

Harry couldn’t listen any further and he quietly retreated back into his bedroom. His mind returned back to what Ron had said. Harry had never met a gay person, or he didn’t think he had. Ron’s theory had thrown Harry off guard and made him realize that the reason he hadn’t asked Hermione was because he didn’t want to _know_.

He was afraid it would make things awkward and strange.

Harry rolled over into bed, falling fast asleep.


	8. Chapter Eight: Coming Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Sirius notify Harry regarding the nature of their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Happy New Year! Sorry I haven't updated in a bit, I've been unmotivated. This chapter is super short, but the next one will feature a bit of a time skip, up until around July 27th, right before Harry's birthday.
> 
> Also, it may seem that Sirius' and Remus' relationship is moving a bit fast, but I like to think that they probably talked it all out and forgave each other for things off-camera.

Around ten o’clock, long after Ron had left and Harry had gone to sleep, Remus and Sirius headed off to bed. Sirius’ day had been long, but relaxing. He spent the day tanning and laying on the beach about a thirty minute walk away. It was the first time he’d swam in twelve years – very long overdue. He’d missed it quite a bit. The stretch of beach he lounged on was quite empty. He only came across one Muggle walking his dog the entire time.

The beach calmed him. The waves cracking over his bare feet felt wonderful and the hot sand under his legs while he sat was comforting. The only thing that could have made his trip better was Remus being there. Remus absolutely hated going swimming. Sirius knew quite well how uncomfortable in his own skin Remus was and how he’d probably be miserable at the beach, but that didn’t stop Sirius from longing for his company.

Before they went to sleep, Sirius had a topic he wanted to address with Remus.

“Moony, love, something happened today I think we should talk about.” He turned on his side towards the other man. They were both in pajamas, quite comfortably so.

“What’s wrong?” Remus’ brow furrowed, making his look years older than he actually was.

“Well, today I overheard Ron and Harry speaking. Harry confided in Ron about… us. The nature of our relationship. He sounded confused.”

“Confused _how_?” Remus, intrigued, also turned to face Sirius.

“He seems to think, and don’t laugh, that we sleep in the same bed because we are so poor that we can’t afford another bed.”

Remus howled out in laughter. “You’re – you’re _joking_!” He got out between laughs.

“I’m not!” Sirius laughed along too.

“That’s rich! No wonder he isn’t a Ravenclaw, he’s _extremely_ unobservant. I love Harry, I do, but _Merlin_ is he unaware of his surroundings!” Remus laughed out.

“I agree. Maybe tomorrow we can have a little chat with Harry, tell him that we’re boyfriends, yeah?” Sirius grabbed Remus’ hand, holding it tightly.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Remus sighed after the laughter died down.

“And I think it’s good that we’re educating him because Ron had suggested we were poofs and Harry was so, _so_ confused as to what a poof was. I hope Ron isn’t homophobic, I really like him.”

“Oh _Merlin_. I’m having flashbacks to that time Lily was teasing James and called him a shirtlifter in fourth year. James had never heard that word before, nor had I,” Remus laughed, “Do you remember going to go find a book that would explain what that meant that night under the cloak?”

“Yes! And then the next day James professed his love for Lily _again_ to prove to he how straight he really was!” Sirius laughed.

The night was spent talking and kissing and cuddling. It had been a long time since they could do that – twelve years.

The next morning Remus made poppy seed pancakes. Harry helped out in the kitchen by making everyone tea. The morning was sunny and warm, though Remus had a job interview so he would not be able to bask. Before he went to his interview, he had to bite the bullet and speak to Harry with Sirius.

He made the decision around ten to gather Sirius and Harry from where they had been reading the _Daily Prophet_ on the porch, chatting idly.

“Hey, how about you two come inside, we need to talk.”

Harry flushed red, visibly nervous. Sirius groaned and turned to look at Remus.

“Can we talk out here? It’s beautiful out here.”

Remus sighed, uncertain.

“I suppose.” He stepped a few steps to lean against the porch railing, blocking the two brunettes’ view of the road.

“Harry, Sirius and I decided that we should speak to you about something. It’s something quite important that we feel cannot wait.”

Sirius nodded along and hummed in agreement, turning to face Harry in his chair.

“Is everything okay?” Harry choked out, looking between the two men.

“Yes, of course, this isn’t about you, it’s about the both of us. You’re not in trouble or anything.” Remus said with a wave of his hand, as if waving off Harry’s concerns.

“Perhaps we should not beat around the bush,” Sirius began, looking at Harry with a brave look, “Harry, Remus and I are in a relationship. Romantically and, well, sexually.”

“ _Sirius_!” Remus cried. “Don’t be so… so… so _crass_!”

Harry looked shocked. Sirius ignored Remus.

“We were together for a few years when we were in school and afterwards. We split up shortly before your parents died and recently we rekindled out relationship. We sleep in the same bed because… well, that’s what couples do. We’re in love.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. Remus’ mind was on repeat – _please don’t be upset, please don’t be upset, please don’t be upset_.

“Did-did my parents know?”

“Yes, they did, and they were very _very_ supportive.” Remus intervened.

“That makes quite a bit of sense.” Harry said, “Is that all?”

Remus was a bit taken aback, but responded, “Um, yes, it is.”

Harry reentered the house and stalked up to his bedroom. Deep down, he’d known, he thinks. It made a lot of sense and quite honestly, Harry was happy. It was like having parents. Two people who love each other and you that take care of you.

Harry took a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write a letter to Ron about the news. It was only around ten fifteen, so Ron probably would not be awake. He gave Hedwig the letter and sent her off to the Burrow. The rest of the day was spent outside assisting Sirius with the gardening that had to be done, collecting seashells from the nearby beach for a potion that Sirius was making, and corresponding with Ron via owl post.

That night, when Harry went to sleep, he felt satisfied and quite exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure to comment if you like this, because i dont want to write something if nobody likes it, y'know? but don't feel pressured or anything.


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